Feature Article
LAND O' LAKES NewsWeb HomeContact Us
Bear Stories - on the deck and in the houseby David BrisonThis is the time of year when bears can occasionally be spotted around the house seeking food. Their summer berry crops have not yet happened and they are hungry after a long winters hibernation.
Some Arden area residents have good bear stories. Gloria and Art Thornton had a bear inside one of their north shore Kennebec Lake cottages. They had been staying there, and went down to their main lodge, a short distance away, leaving the door open, but the screened door closed. When they returned the kitchen was a mess and Gloria thought that it was probably a raccoon. They then saw bear tracks and realized that the bear, which they noticed later across the road, had been inside the house. He (or she) had helped himself to a loaf of bread, margarine, peanuts and peanut butter. Art estimated the bear to be about 350 lbs. He hung around for a while - long enough for other guests at the Thorntons cottages to take some pictures.
The bear returned the next day to the cottage but didnt gain entry the door was locked and the food removed. There were reports of a bear swimming across Kennebec Lake -- possibly headed towards the Tomkins house on the other side of Highway # 7.
Audr and Fred Tomkins, who live in a secluded, heavily wooded area just north of Garrison Lake, were visited by a bear that, according to Audr, Fred confronted; but I dont believe it, knowing Fred, as I do, to be a rational man. They were in an upstairs room, which overlooks their living room and front porch, when their sensor light went on. They initially thought it was activated by a raccoon, but they could see a bear on the porch just on the other side of a closed but unlocked patio door. Audr says, Fred resented having his television program disrupted, but we both went down. He opened the door and went out, despite my protests, and tried to scare him away to no avail. I locked the door [after Fred got back in]. I then got out my Girl Guide whistle and blew it, but that did no good either.
The bear, which they thought was a 250-300 lb. yearling, stayed around for about half an hour. There were nose marks all over the patio door, Audr says. For much of that time we were about two feet away from him on the other side of the glass. I kept thinking what would happen if he simply leaned against the glass. When I saw how easily he knocked aside our barbeque, I decided to retreat.
Only in extremely rare instances will a bear attack with the intent to kill. An MNR publication states that there have been 40 such incidents in the last century in North America. Unfortunately, two of those incidents occurred in the last ten years in an area not far from Frontenac County. Both were camping incidents in which children were dragged out of tents and killed one near Madoc and the other in Algonquin Park.
Homeowners should refrain from leaving food outside the house. A MNR publication, Living With Black Bears In Ontario, has a number of good suggestions about preventing bears from coming close to your house, and what to do if you encounter them.
